Upper Eden Future member Sir Martin Holdgate chaired the event at the King’s Arms in Kirkby Stephen. Speakers were Jack Ellerby of Friends of the Lake District, highlighting evidence that National Park status was good news for business, and Kyle Blue Orton Parish Chairman speaking on behalf of supportive businesses who could see their turnover increase by between 10 and 20%.

Sir Martin Holdgate said “There is no doubt that the proposed five extension areas meet the statutory tests for being in a National Park – outstanding natural beauty and great recreational opportunity. The consultations carried out over the last two years by Natural England have clearly shown that the vast majority of people support the park extensions. Some have perceived however that coming into a National Park would hold back their businesses, so we organised this event for business people to hear the facts for themselves.”

David Butterworth Chief Executive and Kathryn Beardmore Director of Park Services with the Dales National Park attended the meeting to hear everyone’s views and answer questions about how they work with the business community. They made it very clear that the ‘Yorkshire’ brand would not be imposed if the Dales National Park extends further into Cumbria and that the ‘Westmorland’ or ‘Eden’ identify would be fully recognised and protected by the Park Authority.  Settle was quoted as an example of a town on the edge of the National Park that has capitalised on the strong ‘brand’ and from which Kirkby Stephen could learn lessons for its future economic regeneration.

Kyle Blue, Orton Parish Chairman, had carried out a survey of businesses in the Orton and Ravenstonedale area to gauge their views on National Park status. He said:
“The overwhelming majority of businesses, especially those with a visitor customer base, were highly supportive. Many of these businesses are also vital to the social well-being of our local village communities, such as pubs and village shops. They feel that the National Park brand will lift their prospects for growth in a very poor economic climate and create more jobs for local people.”

In conclusion, the meeting urged Cumbria’s County and District politicians to take notice of local businesses views and the growing membership of the Lakes to Dales Business Forum.

Malcolm Wade's Lakeland Mountain Experience can guide you on walks in the Langdale Valley, in Cumbria's Lake District

Whether you are a seasoned Lakeland Fellwalker or new to exploring Cumbria’s amazing mountain walking opportunities you might be interested to know that Malcolm Wade of Lakeland Mountain Experiences has published dates for his qualified guided walks and mountain navigation training courses for 2012. It looks like a fine programme of walks including many of the great and famous names in Fell walking – Scafell, the Langdales, Great Gable, Glaramara, Place Fell,  Fairfield, Martindale etc. and he also promises to lead his walking parties on paths relatively less travelled and to open up the glories of the Lakeland Fells for mountain experiences that few visitors see and that will yield life-long memories.

It is often at dawn and dusk that Lakeland landscapes look their loveliest and Malcolm’s mountain camping expeditions allow walkers to bed down and rise amongst the mountain beauty that they have come from far and wide to see.

You could probably pick Malcolm Wade out from a crowd as a mountaineer. There’s a craggy look to him coupled with the deep-seated equanimity that marks a mountain man.  If the mountains have left their mark on the man, it is certainly true to say that the man has left his mark on the mountains. Malcolm Wade’s relationship with the Mountains of Lakeland is one of give and take. Malcolm Wade is a veteran Fellsman, a qualified Mountain Leader, a Lake District National Park Voluntary Ranger, a Fix the Fells Lengthsman, and a walk leader with a major walking holiday company, he spends much of his time in Cumbria’s magnificent mountain landscapes and knows them well.  His pricing is very reasonable at £20 per person for day walks with a minimum of 4 in the party. You can book as a complete party or sign up to join with a group, the maximum number admitted being 10.  Lakeland Mountain Experience also offer bespoke days in the Fells, so you can arrange to do a special walk.

In addition to professional guiding, Malcolm  also  serves as a registered provider for the NNAS (National Navigation Award Scheme), if you want to see whether mountain navigation is for you he offers introductory navigation training days at just £20 per person and if you seek qualification, the two-day Bronze and Silver training courses – see www.lakelandmountainexperience.com for more information.

There was fair weather over Kendal for the 37th Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) Annual General Meeting at The Castle Green Hotel in Kendal yesterday, Saturday 12 November. It was a pleasant venue, the event was well organised, well catered and attended by about 50 Councillors. There was opportunity to chat with people before the meeting and over the buffet lunch.

It has been a busy year for CALC with lots of work connected with the coming Localism Bill and close involvement with the County’s efforts to develop broadband access and preparing for demographic change. They’ve strengthened their membership base, now 94% of Councillors are CALC members.  CALC will increase membership fees by just 3%, ( less than our current inflation rate).

There was well-deserved applause for the outgoing CALC President, Mr. Melvyn Redgers OBE JP and the nominated officers were unanimously approved for appointment. With the coming of the Localism Bill and the profound changes that this will bring to Parish Council responsibilities, particularly in the area of local planning, the guest speaker for the event Dr. Mike Hall and the theme of his presentation seemed very relevant for us in Cumbria.

In his presentation Windfarms: Rape of The Countryside or Salvation of The World?, Dr. Hall began with a short self-introduction. With a background in planning, he manages The Burnsbeck Nature Reserve and he’s been a key figure in the FELLS Group (Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery) for many years and has been involved in 7 public inquiries.

He stressed that in planning terms the siting problem has been exacerbated by increasing difficulty in mitigation, as turbine size has increased considerably over time, with applications for turbines 15-18 meters high in 1985 and recent designs being for very much larger structures (up to 165m in the UK).  The largest turbines in Germany are 183m tall.

Having drawn the important distinction between visual impact (how the turbines actually look, i.e. in terms of dominance) and landscape impact (how the turbines impact upon the landscape character), he noted that our subjective reaction to them was another matter and likely to vary from individual to individual.

He then presented us with an itemized list of pros and cons of wind farms.
Strengths:

• Virtually no fuel costs involved in their operation,
• No supply chain problems,
• No Significant waste in their use

Weaknesses:

• Reliability,
• Dispatchability,
• Contribution to reducing CO2,

14/10/2011 in Big Society, Press Release by Charles Paxton

Tags: Digital Heroes, Heroism, Libby Bateman, Talk-Talk Competition

Hello everybody.

Please can you take a few moments to click the link below and vote for Libby Bateman as our Digital Champion for 2011? She really is a digital heroine. Though busy with running a business and as a parent, she has devoted a huge amount of her time and energy to improving broadband in Eden – its a vocation for her and she’s truly dedicated to improving internet access for us.

As chair of East Cumbria Community Broadband Group Forum she has been rightly short listed for the Talktalk Digital Heros Awards. We just need to vote to confirm that she deserves the name digital heroine. This has now gone out to the public vote on their website.

Click on Cumbria and vote for Libby!
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/digitalheroes/vote-map.php

If she wins this then she would disperse prize money for rural broadband projects in Eden.
That’s the kind of lady she is.
Please could you log on and vote for her? And ask your friends and family to do the same? Share it via social media etc.
Many thanks,

Charles Paxton

Broadband Champion & Director EVD

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/rethink-the-council-cut-to-eden-arts.html

Eden arts was included in Arts Council’s National Portfolio at a low level of funding. A 70% cut from the local authority will destroy its ability to function effectively. Eden is the most poorly provided district in terms of the arts in Cumbria and has no public venues for the arts. Eden arts projects are all that exists within the district. It is vital that Eden arts are able to demonstrate support from residents in the district and sector based professionals in Cumbria. This petition is important in making their case.

Christian Barnes (CR)

www.vistaprojects.co.uk

Information sent on behalf of Fire & Rescue Service

A dramatic river rescue, road traffic collision and a house fire drill are all set to be on show when emergency servies join forces for a major public open day in Kendal.

Cumbria Fire, Police, Ambulance Service, mountain resuce and a host of other organisations are all taking part in this event on Sat 1st Oct from 1pm – 4pm at Kendal fire station on Busher Walk and along the River Kent.

The open day is aimed at giving the community a flavour of the type of work the emergency services undertake and it’s a chance for them to display their life-saving skills in front of large crowds of people.

It will be of interest to all age groups – the rescue scenarios are pretty dramatic to watch and children will be able to get involved with activities such as on the climbing wall and face-painting.

All are welcome.

For further info: pls contact 0800 358 4777.

Message sent by
Valerie Ayre (Cumbria Fire & Rescue, Administrator, Cumbria)

Many of us have already written supporting previous applications. However, with each new application only those letters sent in specific to that application are taken into account. So the Carlisle Chamber of Commerce say it’s important that we all get behind this once again.

This airport is thought by many to be vital for our business economy, and the Chamber of Commerce feel that Stobart’s plans are the best, and probably our last, opportunity for the airport to succeed and to keep WA and Stobarts in the county. So please write now to Carlisle City Council supporting the application. Such letters of support are taken into account in making decisions on planning applications, and the number received makes a difference, so it’s important for the county that we all get behind this. Everybody in the household can and should comment separately if they have a view on the matter. Numbers count! Please have your say.

Please find below the postal and email address for letters of support in relation to Carlisle Airport:

Carlisle City Council
Planning and Housing Department
Civic Centre
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA3 8QG

Letters can also be emailed directly to dc@carlisle.gov.uk

If you’d like more background info then please read on.

Current income is insufficient to support the case for a modern day airport and in fact the airport loses a significant amount of money. It’s therefore necessary as part of the development, as with other smaller airports, to establish economically viable and sustainable non-aeronautical revenue to ensure the viability and sustainability of the airport.

The airport has been in decline, with no commercial flights, for some years and for many businesses this lack of connectivity to markets and opportunities outside the region has held back growth – with the knock-on effect to supplier businesses and the wider economy.

Although many businesses may not use the airport directly, evidence shows that in areas where there is a successful regional airport the whole business economy benefits, not just those who use it. There is a chain of benefit. The airport is likely to benefit not just the Carlisle area but the whole of Cumbria and Southwest Scotland.

• For more information contact Suzanne Caldwell on 0845 226 0040 or 07825 050 298.
• Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is a not for profit company limited by guarantee, owned by its members for the benefit of members. Our aim is to help the business community throughout Cumbria to grow and prosper.
• For more information on the Chamber and its activities see www.cumbriachamber.co.uk.

Here is the gist of the email:

I write to inform you that an application has been made to Eden District Council for 3 x 18 metre tubines at Bleathgill on Stainmore. Planning application 11/0622.

Details can be found on this pdf
http://eforms.eden.gov.uk/fastweb_upload/2011%20Planning%20Applications/11-0622/0622-DandA-Statement.pdf

I do not believe that it is appropriate for SOS to object to this as an organisation as we were set up to fight the large-scale windfactory at Moudy Mea envisaged by Community Windpower. However I am writing to bring this application to your attention so that you have an opportunity to study it for yourselves and to object if you feel you wish to do so. Whether to object is obviously a matter of personal choice for all SOS members but as you care for the beautiful, wild, unspoilt countryside on Stainmore you certainly have a right to know that an application has been made.

I have objected personally (no mention of or link to SOS). My reasons are mainly that

1) The development is inappropriate within the AONB and against planning guidelines
2) This is not a domestic development but a small scale wind farm and the turbines are situated a long way from the farmstead involved
3) A precedent will be set if this is allowed which will allow further development within AONBs 3 tubines will quickly become 30 and Community Windpower may well return to Stainmore if this application is granted.
4) Visual impact
5) Noise – disturbing the area’s valuable tranquility
6) Recent precedent – one turbine proposed to serve a property was recently rejected by the Planning Inspectorate on appeal due mainly to the fact that it would cause “material harm to the landcape of the North Pennines AONB”.

Please read the application for yourself and see what you think. If you decide to comment you may email the planners on planning.services@eden.gov.uk. Give your name and address and quote application number 11/0622 Bleathgill Barras Stainmore

The original authors retain copyright for the documents, so don’t lift pictures out or infringe their  copyright in other fashion. Responding online is very quick and easy. http://eforms.eden.gov.uk/fastweb/detail.asp?AltRef=11/0622

Thank you for caring about our environment.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/5912